L20 - Improvement Part 2-1

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Geotechnics for Land Protection
Dr. Eng. Lorenzo Brezzi
LESSON 20
Improvement part 2
Geotechnics for Land Protection – Dr. Eng. Ph.D. Lorenzo Brezzi Lesson 20: Improvement part 2 1
Improvement part 2
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Topics:
• Stone columns
• Jet grouting
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Stone column
Introduction
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One of the important problems during construction of earth

road embankment on soft clay are:
1. settlements
2. stability of slopes
Design of embankment on soft ground, where the structure

impose a large load onto the ground raises several concerns on
factors like bearing capacity failure, differential settlements,
lateral pressures and instability.
The prediction of settlement and stability depends on the

behavior of foundation soil. Soft clays can have considerable
implications on the design of embankments and structural
foundations.
Introduction
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This is due to both low shear strength and a tendency to

consolidate and deform with time.
Often the simplest solution to such unfavorable soil conditions
is to find an alternate alignment, although this can be costly
and impractical. As an economic alternative to structural
foundations, ground improvement techniques are becoming
more prevalent.
Ground improvement primarily encompasses the use of

granular stone columns, surcharge with vertical drains, and
chemical stabilization.
Stone columns
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Stone column supported embankments are non-time dependent

foundation technique used to increase the structural stability and
to reduce the structural deformations.
Stone column ground improvement involves adding vertical
columns of stone into the ground to a depth of at least 4m below
the ground surface. A layer of compacted gravel can then be put
over the top of the columns, ready for the construction of new
house foundations.
Stone columns help to limit the amount and consequences of
future liquefaction by:
• Densifying the soil through vibration and introducing stone into
the soil
• Reinforcing the soil creating a stiff composite soil mass.
Stone columns
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By achieving this, the non-liquefying soil crust is thickened and stiffened

to reduce the likelihood of undulations, tilt and uneven ground surface
subsidence from liquefaction of the underlying soil layers, therefore
reducing damage to the house foundations.
In addition, stone columns may sometimes provide the soil with an
increased drainage path to help reduce excess pore water pressure that
can lead to liquefaction, so the columns can reduce the consequences of
liquefaction when this occur.
Stone columns
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They are realized with coarse materials (sand or gravel with 5mm <D<150
mm) put in site by:
- Vibroflotting (deep vibrator)
- Casing pile installed by vibration
- Casing pile installed by a screw
Stone columns
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They are used to:

- reduce the consolidation time (are like sand drains)
- reduce the settlement entity
- increase the overall resistance of the system
Used in soft soil with cu<50 kPa (make care in sensitivity soil).
Typical sizes:
D=0.7-1.2 m
L =5-20 m
i=1.5-3.5 m.
Stone columns - vibroflotting
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Gravel
Stone columns – casing pile
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Hopper
Stone columns
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Stone columns
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Stone columns
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Stone Columns - Materials
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Gravel:
- Diameter in the range 5-150 mm
- 60-70% in weight in the range 40-80 mm
- Every type of rounded degree
- no crushable material
- eventually addition of cement or other materials (secondary materials)
If the columns have a drainage function also we have to add sand in order to
avoid the fine erosion from soils with subsequent filling of the column pores.
The grain-size distribution has to respect the Terzaghi criteria for filters (1922):
- permeability criterium: D15f > 4·D15b
- retention criterium: D15f < 4·D85b
Drain blanket:
% Passing to #200 5%
% sand 50%
Dmax 150 mm
E  60 MPa for p = 100-300 kPa in the load test with the 60 cm diameter plate.
Stone Columns - analysis
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Problems in modelling
=1/3
column
Colonna
- The mutual actions at the contact gravel-soil
are unknown and there is a compenetrating
1c
among the material
- The external load subdivides between columns
and soil not proportionally to the area
- The settlements of columns and soil are Terreno originale
soil
different
1t
- The installation modifies the initial stress
distribution
1=sv/H 1
We usually assume that:
- The columns have the tip in a more resistant layer
- The settlement of the ground surface is constant and the vertical strain is equal
every where (the adsorbed load is proportional to the stiffness)
- The gravel is in plastic state (c indicates the column quantities):
 'hc = Kac   'vc
Settlement analysis (De Beer-Van Impe, ’83)
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Equivalence of area to have a plane strain model in which every column line is
transformed in a wall with a thickness df. Being a = area ratio:
D 2
df D
a= =  d f = ab
4ab b
With: D= column diameter
a and b= longitudinal and transversal
interspaces
We neglect:
- Self-weight of soil;
- Shear stress in the lateral side of column
(horizontal and vertical stresses are principal).
We assume:
- the column strain at constant volume
- The soil parameters are Et e nt.
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We can write the following relations (symbol in the previous scheme):

i) Constant column volume (sv = vertical settlement, sh = lateral displacement:
2shH
df H = (df + 2sh )(H − sv ) sv =
(df + 2sh )
ii) Elastic strain in plane strain condition of the soil:
H nt
sv = (1 − n t )( 'vt −
2
 'ht ) con L = b − df
Et 1−n t
L nt (1 + nt )(1 − 2nt )
sh = (1 − n t )( 'ht −
2
 'vt ) Et = Eed,t
2Et 1−n t 1 − nt
iii) Active plastic state for the column:
 'hc = Kac   'vc =  'ht
iv) Subdivision of external load:

pob = (df + 2sh ) 'vc +(L − 2sh ) 'vt
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The equation may be transformed in non-dimensional shape and then solved:
sv  sh 
i’) =f 
H 1 ab 
 'vt  sh po 
ii’) = f2  nt , , 
po  ab E t 
 'ht  sh po 
= f3  nt , , 
po  ab E t 
  'vt  'ht   po sh 
iv’) f4  , , K pc ,a  = 0 f5  ,n t , K pc ,  = 0

 po po   Et ab 
Being known po, Et, nt, Kpc and a, we solve the last equation for attempts and
we obtain the ratio sh/ab. This permits to obtain the stress in column and soil
and the vertical settlement.
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F1   'vc sh  sv
Being: m= = a +2  and =
Ftot  po ab  svo
the “efficient parameters” where F1= vertical load on one column, Ftot = total
applied on the competent cell, svo= settlement without columns, sv= settlement
with columns.
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Comparison of De Beer - Van Impe

results with theories from other
authors and experimental results.
Bearing capacity
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The columns could reach failure according to 3 mechanisms:

1) Excess lateral expansion due to small lateral confinement
2) Shear along a inclined sliding plane
3) Punching failure of the underlie soil
There are some formula but they are not largely used because the column are
prevalently used for settlement reduction, drainage and reinforcement below
embankment.
(1) (2) (3)

Stability analysis
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In order to take into account the columns we can use 3 ways:

1) Using plane strain LEM analysis drawing every column lines eventually
substituted by the equivalent walls. The LEM code will divide in homogeneous
slices;
2) Using plane strain LEM analysis but transforming the layer with the columns
inside in an equivalent material with shear strength parameters f* e c*:
f * = arctan(a tan f 'c ) c* = (1 − a )cu
3) Using FEM analisys with column simulated as in 1) or 2).
The most correct method is
the 3 with equivalent wall
because it could take into
account the exact repartition
of stress inside the two
material. Other methods
under-evaluated the effect of
columns
Example (by Fattah et al., 2014)
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The construction of the embankment on soft clay was simulated by the

sequential addition of the four horizontal layers with period between the stages
in order to dissipate some of the excess porewater pressure.
The model used for the analysis of the foundation soil is the modified Cam clay
(MCC). For embankment sand, the linear elastic model is used while the stone
columns are assumed to
follow elastic-plastic
behavior with
Mohr-Coulomb
failure criterion.
Example (by Fattah et al., 2014)
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Effect of column height
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Effect of column diameter and spacing
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Conclusions (by Fattah et al., 2014)
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• Improvement of the soft clay with stone columns leads to significant

effect in the behavior of the soft clay, both in undrained conditions
and during consolidation stages.
• Increasing the stone column’s diameter leads to a considerable

decrease in the settlement beneath the embankment, especially
below the center line.
Conclusions (by Fattah et al., 2014)
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• Consolidation analysis showed that the presence of stone columns

leads to a decrease in the differential settlement below the
embankment. The reduction in settlement continues during the
consolidation process.
When the stone column’s diameter is (1.0 m), the maximum settlement
is reduced by about 180% at the end of construction but it is reduced
by about 250% after 200 days.
• The excess pore water pressure increases immediately after

construction of each lift of the embankment and then falls. The excess
pore water pressure dissipates suddenly when using stone columns.
This means that these columns function as drains.

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Geotechnics for Land Protection

Dr. Eng. Lorenzo Brezzi

One of the important problems during construction of earth

Design of embankment on soft ground, where the structure

The prediction of settlement and stability depends on the

This is due to both low shear strength and a tendency to

Ground improvement primarily encompasses the use of

Stone column supported embankments are non-time dependent

By achieving this, the non-liquefying soil crust is thickened and stiffened

They are used to:

We can write the following relations (symbol in the previous scheme):

iv) Subdivision of external load:

The equation may be transformed in non-dimensional shape and then solved:

Comparison of De Beer - Van Impe

The columns could reach failure according to 3 mechanisms:

(1) (2) (3)

In order to take into account the columns we can use 3 ways:

The construction of the embankment on soft clay was simulated by the

• Improvement of the soft clay with stone columns leads to significant

• Increasing the stone column’s diameter leads to a considerable

• Consolidation analysis showed that the presence of stone columns

• The excess pore water pressure increases immediately after

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